Interactive cable television system

ABSTRACT

An interactive cable television system, such as a one way system, simultaneously provides both regular television programmings for one or more television reception channels and subscriber selectable multi-information television programming for a designated common one of those channels to a plurality of subscribers. Each individual subscriber having a multi-information interface network connected to the multichannel television receiver input may independently choose between reception of the regular television programming on any of the channels, including the designated common channel, and reception of the multi-information television programming which comprises a plurality of multi-information packets. Each packet comprises a plurality of simultaneously transmitted different information message signals which are related in real time and content to each other but which are transmitted at a different frequency from each other and from the associated frequencies of the television reception channels. The interface network, which includes a plurality of selection keys, converts the associated frequency of the desired information message signal in the transmitted packet to the common designated channel frequency to enable television reception thereof in accordance with the key selected. Another subscriber having the interface network may independently choose to receive either the regular television programming on that, or another channel, or a different information message signal, while subscribers not having the interface network may still receive the regular television programming. Labels for the selection keys may be visually presented on the television screen during reception of multi-information programming and may be dynamically varied in accordance with message content, such as in a decision tree or memory accumulation type of programming format.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is related to the commonly owned U.S. patentapplication of Michael J. Freeman, one of the named coinventors herein,entitled "Dedicated Channel Interactive Cable Television System", filedcontemporaneously herewith, bearing U.S. patent application Ser. No.66,161 filed Aug. 13, 1979; to the commonly owned copending U.S. patentapplication, Ser. No. 903,851 of said Michael J. Freeman, entitled"Method for Providing Variable Interactive Audio Response from a CommonMultichannel Recording Medium and Storage Medium Produced Thereby",filed May 8, 1978; to the commonly owned copending U.S. patentapplication Ser. No. 883,262 of said Michael J. Freeman entitled "RealTime Conversational Type Interactive Television System", filed Mar. 3,1978, now abandoned; and to the commonly owned previous U.S. Pat. Nos.3,947,972 and 4,078,316 of said Michael J. Freeman, entitled,respectively, "Real Time Conversational Response Teaching Apparatus" and"Real Time Conversational Toy", the contents of which patentsspecifically incorporated by reference herein in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to cable television systems andparticularly to interactive cable television systems.

2. Description of the Prior Art

Real time conversational student response teaching apparatus are knownsuch as described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,947,972 and 4,078,316. Inaddition, multiple choice student response systems are well known, suchas exemplified by the systems disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 2,921,385;3,020,360; 2,826,828; 3,623,238; 3,546,791; 3,273,260; 3,665,615;3,245,157; 3,284,923; 3,538,621; 3,477,144; 3,708,891; 3,255,536;2,777,901; 2,908,767; 3,774,316; 3,194,895; 3,484,950, 3,343,280; and3,763,577, by way of example. None of these prior art systems, however,has been adapted to be employed in connection with conventional cabletelevision in which an essentially one way system is convertible on asubscriber-by-subscriber basis into what appears to be a two wayinteractive network in which the television programming information tobe received by the individual subscribers is individually selectable toenable the subscriber to receive either selectable multi-informationtelevision programming and/or regular television programming on thetelevision reception channels of a conventional multichannel televisionreceiver. Moreover, although prior art subscription cable televisionsystems per se are known in which a plurality of unrelated televisionprograms, under control of a computer, are transmitted over a commontelevision channel for selection by the individual subscribers, such asdisclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,814,841 and 3,757,225, no such systems areknown to applicants which are one way interactive systems capable ofindependent subscriber selectable reception of simultaneouslytransmitted multi-information television programming and regulartelevision programming over a common designated television receptionchannel. Such an arrangement would greatly expand the educational andentertainment capabilities and horizons of cable television systems withthe prior art essentially being concerned with a severaly limitedquantity of users. The desire to expand the educational capabilities andhorizons of mass entertainment media has greatly increased with theadvent of cable television in which considerably more channels than werepreviously available are present. Nevertheless, even though cabletelevision has existed for a number of years, it has not been employed,to applicant's knowledge, in an interactive conversational type teachingor interactive entertainment system in which a mass audience of people,in addition to their regular programming, can receive individuallycontrollable instantaneous real-time effective interaction with thequestions being asked, and/or individually tailored messages orentertainment. These disadvantages of the prior art are overcome by thepresent invention.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

An interactive cable television system, such as a one way system,simultaneously provides both regular television programmings for one ormore television reception channels and subscriber selectablemulti-information television programming for a designated common one ofthose channels to a plurality of subscribers. Each individual subscriberhaving a multi-information interface network connected to themultichannel television receiver input may independently choose betweenreception of the regular television programming on any of the channels,including the designated common channel, and reception of themulti-information television programming which comprises a plurality ofmulti-information packets. Each packet comprises a plurality ofsimultaneously transmitted different information message signals whichare related in real time and content to each other but which aretransmitted at a different frequency from each other and from theassociated frequencies of the television reception channels. Theinterface network, which includes a plurality of selection keys,converts the associated frequency of the desired information messagesignal in the transmitted packet to the common designated channelfrequency to enable television reception thereof in accordance with thekey selected. Another subscriber having the interface network mayindependently choose to receive either the regular televisionprogramming on that, or another channel, or a different informationmessage signal, while subscribers not having the interface network maystill receive the regular television programming. Labels for theselection keys may be visually presented on the television screen duringreception of multi-information programming and may be dynamically variedin accordance with message content, such as in a decision tree or memoryaccumulation type of programming format.

The transmitted multi-information television programming communicationsignal is preferably a frequency multiplexed signal and, thus, theinterface network preferably includes a demultiplexer for demultiplexingeach of the packets of this signal into its frequency separatedinformation message signal components. This demultiplexed signal is thenpassed to a band pass filter which only passes the frequency bandassociated with the transmitted multi-information televisionprogramming. The pass band output of this filter is fed to one input ofa two input mixer whose other input is a mixing frequency signal whichwhen mixed with the filter pass band output will accomplish theaforementioned frequency conversion of the desired information messagesignal. The mixer output is then fed to a fixed frequency filter whichonly passes signals at the frequency of the designated common channeland it is this fixed frequency of the designated common channel and itis this fixed frequency filter output which is then subscriberselectably fed to the input of the subscriber's television receiver inplace of the regular television programming for that designated commonchannel.

The aforementioned mixing frequency signal is preferably produced from atunable digital mixing frequency synthesizer having a referenceoscillator and a phase locked loop employing a tunable voltagecontrolled oscillator in a servo loop feedback path. The feedback pathincludes a digital frequency divider having a variable division ratiowhich may be varied in accordance with the key selected. The keys arepreferably connected to the input of a read only memory which stores thevarious division ratio command signals selectably provided to the mixingfrequency synthesizer to select the division ratio of the frequencydivider.

In addition to the above, the interface network may include a modeselection switch which enables the subscriber to choose betweenreception of regular television programming of the designated commonchannel and multi-information television programming on that channel,with the switch being part of a signal separation network which permitspassage to the television receiver input of regular televisionprogramming for other than the designated common channel whileselectively controlling passage of regular television programming forthe designated common channel. Such a mode selection switch and signalseparation network need not be employed if regular televisionprogramming for the designated common channel is not simultaneouslytransmitted along with multi-information television programming for thatchannel.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of the presently preferred overall interactivecable television system of the present invention, illustrating thepresently preferred arrangement in which conventional regular CATVprogramming for a common television channel is substantiallysimultaneously transmitted from the CATV head end along with asubscriber selectable multi-information television program capable ofreception on the same common channel in place of the regular programminginformation;

FIG. 2 is a block diagram of the presently preferred typicalmulti-information interface network portion employed in a typicalindividual subscriber television reception system in accordance with thepresently preferred embodiment of the invention illustrated in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a typical presently preferredmulti-information selection controller portion of the multi-informationinterface network illustrated in FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a typical presently preferred mixingfrequency synthesizer employed in the multi-information selectioncontroller of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a typical phase-to-DC voltage converteremployable in the mixing frequency synthesizer of FIG. 4;

FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram of a typical voltage controlled oscillatorportion of the mixing frequency synthesizer of FIG. 4;

FIG. 7 is a logic diagram of a typical phase detector portion of themixing frequency synthesizer illustrated in FIG. 4;

FIGS. 8 and 9 are block diagrams of alternative embodiments for atypical subscriber television reception system usable when regularprogramming information for a designated television channel is notsimultaneously transmitted from the CATV head end at the time that asubscriber selectable multi-information television program is beingtransmitted;

FIG. 10 is a diagrammatic illustration, partially in schematic andpartially in block, of an alternative embodiment of the interactivecable television system of the present invention in which themulti-information television program is transmitted from the CATV headend with one channel being dedicated to each selection informationmessage in a multi-information packet;

FIG. 11 is a diagrammatic illustration, partially in block, of the audioselection portion of a typical conventional multichannel TV receiver inaccordance with the embodiment of FIG. 10;

FIG. 12 is a logic flow diagram illustrative of a decision tree inaccordance with the memory accumulation function of the system of thepresent invention;

FIGS. 13A-13D are diagrammatic illustrations of typical subscribertelevision presentations in accordance with the decision tree of FIG.12, further illustrative of the dynamic label changing function of thesystem of the present invention; and

FIG. 14 is a diagrammatic illustration, similar to FIGS. 13A-13D,further illustrative of the dynamic label changing function of thesystem of the present invention in accordance with a talking calculatorfunction of the system of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the drawings in detail, and initially to FIG. 1thereof, a block diagram of the presently preferred overall interactivecable television system of the present invention, generally referred toby the reference numeral 200, is shown. Cable television system 200preferably includes a CATV head end 202 which conventionally transmitsthe CATV television programming information, a conventional CATVsubscriber distribution network 204, and a plurality of subscribers eachhaving a subscriber television reception system, with three such typicalsubscriber television reception systems 206, 208, and 210,illustratively labeled subscriber "A", subscriber "B", and subscriber"n", respectively, in FIG. 1. As will be described in greater detailhereinafter, the CATV head end 202 is preferably conventional with theexception of the presently preferred arrangement utilized for providingsubscriber selectable television programming multi-information capableof reception on a common designated television channel in place of theregular or conventional CATV television programming which issubstantially simultaneously transmitted for that same designatedtelevision channel. As will also be described in greater detailhereinafter, as used herein throughout the specification and claims, theterm "multi-information television programming" is meant to refer to aplurality of different selectable information messages, related in realtime and content, only one of which will be subscriber selectablydisplayed at a particular time on the designated television receptionchannel but which may vary independently from subscriber to subscriberdependent on what information the subscriber selects for reception onthe designated common television reception channel at that particulartime. In the presently preferred system 200 of FIG. 1, the selectablemulti-information television program is transmitted from the head end202 through the CATV subscriber distribution network 204 along withconventional regular CATV television programming information for thatdesignated channel and for the other television reception channels usedby the normal CATV television system. As will be described in greaterdetail hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 2-7, the individualsubscriber may then independently select between reception of themulti-information television program on the designated televisionreception channel and reception of the regular CATV televisionprogramming information for that designated channel, as well asindividually independently selecting which of the plurality of differentmessages, related in real time and content, which are beingsubstantially simultaneously transmitted at a given time in amulti-information packet, is to be received or displayed on thesubscriber's conventional multichannel television receiver 224.

With respect to the CATV head end 202, it preferably includes aconventional CATV television programming information signal source 212for providing multichannel cable television programming of a pluralityof different programs in a conventional manner, a conventional CATVtransmitter 214 capable of conventionally providing the plurality ofdifferent CATV programs to the subscriber distribution network 204 andtherefrom to the individual subscriber television reception systems, aprerecorded video/audio multi-information television program signalsource 216, to be described in greater detail hereinafter, for providingthe multi-information packets for ultimate selectable display on thedesignated common television reception channel of the subscribers'conventional television receivers 224,224a in FIG. 1, and a conventionalfrequency multiplexer 218 for frequency multiplexing themulti-information television program signal output of multi-informationtelevision program source 216 to provide a frequency multiplexed inputto the CATV transmitter 214 for conventional transmission through thesubscriber distribution network 204 along with the conventional CATVprogramming from regular television program source 212. As will bedescribed in greater detail hereinafter, prerecorded video/audiomulti-information television program signal source 216 may be anyconventional source capable of providing synchronized multipleinformation messages which are related in real time and content to eachother, such as from a conventional multiple information storage media,such as multitrack tape in which each of the information tracks containsinformation messages related in real time and content to each other,such as will be described with reference to FIG. 10 by way of example,or a plurality of separate tapes whose operation is synchronized so asto relate the information messages or segments contained on the varioustapes in real time and content to each other, or synchronized videodiscs, or any other conventional source of prerecorded video/audioinformation capable of providing a plurality of information messagesrelated in real time and content to each other. Preferably, the outputof the prerecorded video/audio multi-information television programsignal source 216 comprises a plurality of substantially simultaneouslytransmitted different information signals related in real time andcontent to each other but each separated, such as preferably byfrequency, from each other. Moreover, each of the assigned frequenciesfor the related different information signals is different from eachother and is preferably at a frequency which is different from that ofthe associated communication frequency of the designated commontelevision reception channel on the subscriber television receivers overwhich the multi-information television programming is to be displayed orreceived, as well as being different from the associated communicationfrequencies of any of the other television reception channels associatedwith the subscriber television receivers. However, the assignedfrequencies for the related different information signals are preferablycompatible television frequencies such that when mixed with anappropriate mixing frequency, as will be described in greater detailhereinafter with references to FIGS. 3-7, they are capable of selectionand conversion to the appropriate associated television receptionchannel frequency for the designated common television receptionchannel. Conventional frequency multiplexer 218, which is preferablyconnected to the output of multi-information television program source216, preferably conventionally multiplexes the related differentinformation signals to provide a multiplexed multi-informationtelevision program communication signal comprising the aforementionedmulti-information packet. As used herein throughout the specificationand claims the expression "multi-information packet" is meant to referto a television compatible information segment comprising a plurality ofdifferent information message signals related in real time and contentto each other, each separated by frequency from each other. It is thisfrequency multiplexed television compatible signal output from frequencymultiplexer 218 which, along with the conventional CATV regulartelevision programming from regular television program informationsource 212, is ultimately provided from CATV transmitter 214 to thesubscriber distribution network 204 and therefrom to the individualsubscriber television reception systems 206, 208, 210.

As was previously mentioned, the presently preferred embodimentillustrated in FIG. 1 assumes, by way of example, that the illustrativesystem is a ten channel television system having television channels A-Jand that channel A is the designated common television reception channelover which the multi-information packets comprising the selectablemulti-information television program are to be selectably displayed atthe independent choice of the individual subscriber. Moreover, aspreviously mentioned, the presently preferred system of FIG. 1 alsoassumes that regular conventional cable television programming for thedesignated common television reception channel, channel A, issubstantially simultaneously transmitted along with themulti-information packets comprising the selectable multi-informationtelevision program so as to enable the individual subscriber toindependently select between reception of conventional regulartelevision programming on the designated common television receptionchannel and reception of the multi-information television program onthat same channel. In addition, as will be described in greater detailhereinafter, this feature of the presently preferred system of thepresent invention enables subscribers who do not subscribe to themulti-information television program capability of the system and/or whodo not have the appropriate equipment to receive the transmittedmulti-information television programming on the designated commontelevision reception channel of their television receiver, to receiveregular television programming on all television reception channelswithout having to sacrifice or lose effective use of a televisionreception channel.

With respect to the illustrated individual subscriber televisionreception systems 206, 208, and 210, by way of example, subscribertelevision reception systems 206 and 210 are illustrated as having thepresently preferred associated equipment to enable selectable receptionof the substantially simultaneously transmitted multi-informationtelevision program on the common designated television receptionchannel, channel A in the above example, while subscriber televisionreception system 208 is illustrated as not having this capability orequipment. Moreover, the associated equipment of the individualsubscriber television reception systems 206 and 210 in the example ofFIG. 1 is preferably identical in function and operation and includes aconventional RF demodulator 220, a conventional CATV multichannelcontroller 222, a conventional multichannel television receiver 224, andthe presently preferred multi-information interface network 226 of thepresent invention which is to be described in greater detail hereinafterwith reference to FIGS. 2-7. Accordingly, identical reference numeralsare used herein with respect to components which are identical infunction and operation. With respect to subscriber television receptionsystem 208, the RF demodulator 220, the CATV multichannel controller 222and the conventional multichannel television receiver 224 are preferablyidentical in function and operation with that previously described withreference to subscriber television reception systems 206 and 210, withthe only exeption being that absence of the presently preferredmulti-information interface network 226. Moreover, as shown andpreferred in FIG. 1, the presently preferred multi-information interfacenetwork 226 is preferably pluggable into the individual subscriber'stelevision reception system between the television receiver 224 and themultichannel controller 222 so that it may readily be inserted in aconventional television subscriber's home by the subscriber without anymodification to the television receiver 224 nor to the conventionalmultichannel controller 222 already in the home.

Referring now to FIG. 2, a typical presently preferred multi-informationinterface network 226 is shown. For purposes of discussion, it isassumed that the conventional CATV multichannel controller 222 properlytreats the incoming CATV signal in a conventional manner to enable itsreception and display on the various designated television receptionchannels A-J of television receiver 224 in the ten channel system of thepresent example. It is this conventionally treated signal which ispreferably provided via path 230 to the input of the multi-informationinterface network 226. This television signal preferably then undergoessignal separation via conventional band pass filters 234 and 236 toseparate this signal into the frequency band of signals which areassociated with the designated television reception channels B-J viafilter 234 and with the frequency associated with designated commontelevision reception channel A via filter 236. Thus filter 234 passesthe frequency band of signals associated with television receptionchannels B-J directly onto television receiver 224 via path 232 toenable conventional processing and display of the regular televisionprogramming associated with television reception channels B-J. Theoutput of band pass filter 236, which is preferably a fixed frequencyfilter which preferably solely passes signals at the frequencyassociated with television reception channel A, is preferably providedvia path 238 to one input of a two input double pole-double throw modeselection switch 240. The other input to mode selection switch 240 ispreferably directly provided via path 230 from the CATV controller 222and contains the frequency multiplexed multi-information televisionprogram, signal comprising the multi-information packets, as well as theconventional CATV programming television signals. As shown and preferredin FIG. 2, mode selection switch 240 has two positions labeled "NORMAL",given reference numeral 242, and labeled "MULTI-INFORMATION", givenreference numeral 244. In addition to switch contacts 242 and 244, thereis a neutral switch contact 246. Mode selection switch 240 alsopreferably includes a pair of ganged wiper arms 248 and 250 whichcomprise the double pole-double throw switch 240. Mode selection switch240 is illustrated in the "MULTI-INFORMATION" mode or position in FIG. 2in which instance the output of band pass filter 238 is preferablyprovided via wiper arm 248 to neutral contact 246 and is, thus,disconnected from the input to television receiver 224. At the sametime, the signal provided via path 230 directly to the mode selectionswitch 240 is preferably provided, via wiper arm 250, contact 244, andpath 252, to the input of a presently preferred multi-informationinformation selection controller 254, to be described in greater detailhereinafter with reference to FIGS. 3-7 and, therefrom, via path 256 topath 232 for provision along with the pass band of television signalsfor television reception channels B-J, to television receiver 224 whereit undergoes conventional processing to enable reception and displaythereof on designated common television reception channel A, whileregular television programming is received and displayed on televisionreception channels B-J. The mode selection switch 240 is, thuspreferably made available to the subscriber to enable the subscriber toselect between reception of the multi-information television programmingon designated television reception channel A, when switch 240 is in theposition illustrated in solid lines in FIG. 2, and reception ofsubstantially simultaneously transmitted normal or regular televisionprogramming on the same designated television reception channel A whenswitch 240 is in the position shown in dotted lines in FIG. 2. As shownand preferred in FIG. 2, in the dotted line position of switch 240,wiper arm 248 would be connected to "NORMAL" contact 242 and the channelA regular television programming signal output of filter 236 would beprovided via path 260 to path 232 and therefrom to television receiver224 along with the pass band television signal output of filter 234 toenable conventional reception and display thereof of regular televisionprogramming on television reception channels A-J. In this instance,wiper arm 250 would be connected to neutral contact 246 thusdisconnecting the multi-information selection controller 254 from theinput to television receiver 224.

Referring now to FIGS. 3-7, the presently preferred multi-informationselection controller 254 shall now be described in greater detail.Initially referring to FIG. 3, multi-information selection controller254 preferably includes a conventional frequency demultiplexer 270 whichdemultiplexes the frequency multiplexed signal originally provided fromfrequency multiplexer 218, with the conventional television programminghaving previously been processed into its assigned frequencies by theconventional CATV multichannel controller 222. Such demultiplexer 270may be omitted if this function can be achieved in the CATV multichannelcontroller 222. This demultiplexed signal is then provided via path 272to a multi-information signal band pass filter 274 which is preferably aconventional band pass filter which passes the frequency band of signalsassociated with the transmitted multi-information packets which bandpreferably falls within a band of frequencies outside of those assignedto television reception channels A-J in the example given. The output ofthe multi-information signal band pass filter 274 is preferablyconnected to one input of a two input conventional mixer 276 via signalpath 277, whose other input is a mixing frequency signal provided viapath 278 from the output of a mixing frequency synthesizer 280 to bedescribed in greater detail hereinafter with reference to FIGS. 4-7. Theoutput of mixer 276 is preferably provided via path 282 to aconventional fixed frequency filter 284 which is preferably identical tofilter 236 and is a conventional band pass filter designed to pass onlysignals having the frequency of a single common television receptionchannel, namely the designated television reception channel, which inthe example given is channel A. The output of filter 284 is preferablyprovided via path 256 to path 232 and therefrom to the input of theconventional multichannel television receiver 224.

The input to the mixing frequency synthesizer 280 is preferably adigital command signal, termed the "division ratio command signalinput", provided via path 290 from the output of a conventional readonly memory 292. Read only memory 292 preferably conventionally stores aplurality of unique division ratio digital command signals which, aswill be described with reference to FIG. 4, ultimately determine themixing frequency signal output of mixing frequency synthesizer 280 whichis provided via path 278. Thus, read only memory 292 may be referred toas a "division ratio command signal generator." The input to read onlymemory 292 is preferably provided from a keyboard 294 which, forpurposes of illustration, is shown as having four "unlabeled" keys 294a,294b, 294c and 294c, although any desired number of keys may be providedwithout departing from the spirit and scope of the present invention.The particular key 294a-294d which is depressed or enabled at any giventime by the individual subscriber will, in a conventional manner,determine the particular unique output of read only memory 292 which isprovided via path 290 with each key 294a-294d preferably having a uniqueassociated corresponding digital output being provided from read onlymemory 292 when the particular key 294a-294d is depressed or enabled bythe subscriber. The layout of the keyboard 294 may be any desired layoutand most preferably may include the mode selection switch 240 physicallylocated adjacent keys 294a-294d to facilitate ease of use by thesubscriber.

The mixing frequency synthesizer 280, which is shown in greater detailin FIGS. 4-7, is preferably a digital mixing frequency synthesizer ofthe type shown and described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,814,841 and 3,757,225.As shown and described in these references, the digital mixing frequencysynthesizer 280 preferably includes a reference oscillator 300 whoseoutput is provided to a conventional phase locked loop network 302 forproviding the mixing frequency signal via path 278 to mixer 276. As waspreviously mentioned, this mixing frequency signal provided via path 278is a signal having a frequency such that when this signal is mixed withthe plurality of frequency separated different information signalscontained in the multi-information packet, which signals are related inreal time and content to each other, and which are provided to mixer 276via path 277 at frequencies other than the common designated televisionreception channel A frequency, it results in the provision of one of theplurality of time and content related information signals via path 256,dependent on the key 294a-294d selected, at the frequency of thedesignated television reception channel A, the other signals beingfiltered out by fixed frequency filter 284. The choice of referenceoscillator 300, which constitutes the precision frequency standard ofthe preferred system, is preferably dictated by the frequency accuracyand spectrum desired for the multi-information packet, as well as thenumber of different information signals which it is desired to haveselectable at a given time which, in the instance of a multitrack sourcecan be thought of in terms of the number of "tracks" of information tobe provided. Most preferably, the reference oscillator 300 is a highlystable oscillator, such as a quartz crystal oscillator or, if desired, atuning fork oscillator. The phase locked loop portion 302 of the digitalmixing frequency synthesizer 280 of the type described in U.S. Pat. Nos.3,814,841 and 3,757,225, preferably includes a conventional voltagecontrolled oscillator 304, such as a conventional CLAPP oscillatorillustrated in FIG. 6 by way of example, which is tuned over the desiredmixing frequency range by means of the phase locked loop 302. Thefrequency selected for the output of the voltage controlled oscillator304 is preferably held fixed with crystal accuracy through the feedbacksystem in the servo loop, which is a digitally variable feedback system,via feedback path 306. The digital output of the read only memory 292provided via path 290 to digital mixing frequency synthesizer 280 ispreferably a parallel bit digital signal and is preferably operativelyconnected to the input of a conventional digital frequency divider 310having a variable division ratio represented by "÷N", the division ratiobeing varied in accordance with the division ratio command digitalsignal provided via path 290. Thus, each key 294a-294d corresponds to adifferent division ratio with the division ratio effectively beingvaried by varying the key 294a-294d which is selected.

Preferably, the digital frequency divider 310 is a conventional downcounter such as one comprising a plurality of flip-flops. The feedbackfrequency output of divider 310 provided via aforementioned feedbackpath 306 is preferably provided as one input to a two input conventionalphase detector 312 whose other input is the output of the aforementionedreference oscillator 300. Preferably, the output of the referenceoscillator 300 corresponds to the required phase detector frequency,which is the frequency spacing between adjacent time and content relatedinformation signals comprising the multi-information packet signal band.As was referred to in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,814,841 and 3,757,225, and as isalso applicable herein, if desired another conventional differencefrequency divider network, having a fixed division ratio, may beutilized between the reference crystal oscillator 300 and the phasedetector 312 if the frequency of the reference oscillator 300 is not atthe value of the desired phase detector frequency. The aforementionedphase detector 312, as was described in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,814,841 and3,757,225, may preferably be a digital phase detector, such as aconventional AND gate 320 (FIG. 7) whose output is proportional to thephase difference between the reference oscillator 300 signal in digitalform and the feedback frequency divider signal from divider 310. Asshown and preferred in FIG. 4, the output of phase detector 312 ispreferably operatively connected via path 322 to the input of aconventional phase-to-D.C. voltage converter 324 which converts thisphase difference output signal to a D.C. voltage which is utilized tocontrol the frequency of the aforementioned voltage controlledoscillator 304, which preferably has a variable frequency output. Asfurther shown and preferred in FIG. 4, the output of the phase-to-D.C.voltage converter 324 is preferably connected to the input of voltagecontrolled oscillator 304 through a conventional loop filter network 326which preferably conventionally provides the proper pull-in and hold-inphase loop characteristics together with the gain control of theconverter 324, to the voltage controlled oscillator 304. This D.C.voltage output is what is utilized to tune the voltage controlledoscillator 304.

Referring now to FIGS. 5 and 6, by way of example, a CLAPP typeconventional voltage controlled oscillator 304, as was previouslydescribed, is shown. This oscillator 304 preferably includes aconventional field effect transistor 330 having a source electrode 332,a gate electrode 334 and a drain electrode 336. A conventional seriesresonant tuning circuit 338 is operatively connected to the gateelectrode 334 of transistor 330 and a conventional parallel resonanttuning circuit 340 is preferably operatively connected to the drainelectrode 336. A conventional varactor 342 is preferably operativelyconnected to tuning circuit 338 and, thus, the D.C. voltage inputprovided via path 327 from loop filter 326 preferably electronicallyvaries the capacitance of varactor 342 which, thus, changes thecapacitance of tuning circuit 338 thereby returning oscillator 304 so asto change the frequency of oscillation. Of course, if desired, voltagecontrolled oscillator 304 could be any other type of conventionalvoltage controlled oscillator, such as a Wien bridge oscillator, or arelaxation oscillator such as one employing a Shockley diode.

A typical phase-to-D.C. voltage converter which may be used forconverter 324 is illustrated in FIG. 5, although any conventional meansfor conversion of the phase signal to a D.C. voltage may be utilized aslong as such converter 324 preferably is of the type which provides asubstantially stable D.C. voltage as a result of the conversion. Thetypical conventional phase-to-D.C. voltage converter illustrated in FIG.5 includes a conventional low pass filter 350 which is operativelyconnected to conventional amplifier 352, which the low pass filter 350preferably passing only the D.C. component of the input signal providedfrom phase detector 312 via path 322 while attenuating the highfrequency components. The low pass filter 350 preferably containssufficient sections of low pass filtering and rejection filtering ateach of the undesired frequencies in the digital input signal, such asthe phase detector frequency and the harmonics thereof, so as tominimize variations in the resultant D.C. voltage. The reason for theabove is that variation in this voltage can lead to undesirablefrequency modulation of the voltage controlled oscillator 304. Theoutput of converter 324 is thereafter provided via path 325 to the inputof the loop filter 326.

For purposes of illustration of the presently preferred interactivecable television system of the present invention, it shall be assumedthat the prerecorded video/audio multi-information television programsignal source 216 comprises a conventional type of multitrack device forproviding audio and video information associated with each track at aunique associated frequency for the track with the information from eachtrack being simultaneously processed at the head end 202 so as toprovide a frequency multiplexed communication signal comprising theaforementioned multi-information packets. As was previously mentioned,the prerecorded multi-information packets each comprise a plurality ofdifferent information message signals related in real time and contentto each other but each at a different associated frequency so as tofrequency separate the simultaneously provided different informationmessage signals. The technique of achieving such frequency separation isconventional and need not be described in greater detail hereinafter.

For purposes of completeness, the presently preferred technique ofproviding a typical multi-information packet of different informationmessage signals related in real time and content to each other shall nowbe described. Preferably, the system 200 of the present inventioncoordinates the audio interactive portion of the multi-informationpacket for a particular program with the video information portion so asto enable provision of prerecorded composite television programming.With respect to the provision of this coordinated prerecordedvideo/audio information from source 216, this may be conventionallyaccomplished with conventional multitrack video tape such as a systememploying one video information track for each audio information track,termed "non-shared video" herein, or one employing video tracks whichare common or "shared" by a plurality of audio information tracks suchas where two difference video information tracks are "shared" by fouraudio information tracks, termed "shared video" herein, such as in theinstance where one is concerned with a dichotomy of answers, such asright and wrong. In such an instance of "shared video", one videoinformation track would certain the video display associated with acorrect answer which, for example, would only correspond to one of theaudio information tracks at a given time, whereas the other videoinformation track would contain video information associated with anincorrect answer, which would correspond to the balance of the audioinformation tracks, by way of example. The processing of the videoinformation and the audio information to provide a composite televisionsignal at each of the designated frequencies for the multi-informationpackets at the head end 202, whether for "shared video" or "non-sharedvideo", is conventional and will not be described in greater detailhereinafter. Suffice it to say that, in the system of the presentinvention, all of the various information messages should be related inreal time and content to each other and, hence, should be prerecorded sothat they may be properly synchronized to achieve the desired real timerelationship. If, at a given time, it is desired to employ theaforementioned technique with respect to a dichotomy of answers, thenpreferably the video information portion would preferably merely beresponsive to the correctness or incorrectness of the answer while theassociated audio information portion in the resultant compositetelevision signal which is displayed on the subscriber's televisionreceiver 224 would preferably be directly related to the chosen answer,such as informing the subscriber why the choice was incorrect and whatthe correct choice was.

The prerecorded information of the cable television system 200 of thepresent invention, prior to processing to coordinate the video and audioportions into composite television signals, with each track being at adifferent associated frequency so as to frequency separate the differenttracks and with each frequency being different from the frequencyassociated with the various television reception channels A-J in theabove example, is preferably related in real time and content in themanner described in the previous commonly owned patents of Michael J.Freeman, one of the named inventors herein, namely U.S. Pat. Nos.3,947,972 and 4,078,316, both of which are directed to a real timeinteractive device as opposed to an interactive cable television systemof the type described herein, Suffice it to say that, preferably,whatever type of multitrack storage device is employed, it shouldpreferably contain one track for each of the corresponding plurality ofrelated different information message signals which are to besimultaneously transmitted. Although the system is being described interms of only four such tracks of time related different informationmessage signals, the system 200 is capable of operation with any numberof such simultaneously transmitted different information messagesignals, solely being dependent on the desired bandwidth to be assignedto the frequency multiplexed multi-information packets and the desiredfrequency spacing within the packet as well as, of course, theunassigned frequencies which are available to be transmitted. Thus, asdescribed in the aforementioned referenced patents of Michael J.Freeman, a conventional multitrack playback head could be conventionallyemployed with the multitrack storage medium for conventionallysimultaneously reading or playing back all of the tracks from thestorage medium in order to simultaneously provide this information forprocessing, including subsequent frequency separation of each of thetracks, subsequent frequency multiplexing of the multi-informationpacket and ultimate transmission thereof to the CATV subscriberdistribution network 204. It should be noted that at any given time anyof the tracks, each of which preferably has a corresponding associatedkey 294a-294d in the above four track of four simultaneously transmittedinformation message signal example, can be termed the question orinterrogatory key or track, as will be described in greater detailhereinafter, because of the nature of the information messagetransmitted at a given point in time from that track or, thus,selectable by that corresponding key 294a-294d. However, of course, thiscan be varied on a packet-by-packet or information message-by-message orsegment-by-segment basis so that the particular key 294a-294d andassociated information message signal can be changed in accordance withthe prerecorded information provided from the head end 202. In thisregard, it should be noted that the keyboard 294 is not restricted byany "labeling" associated with the keys and, thus, as will be describedin greater detail with reference to FIGS. 12-14, the "labels" associatedwith the keys 294a-294d may be dynamically varied to provide relativelyunlimited flexibility to the system 200. With respect to the prerecordedinformation at multi-information television program source 216, thisinformation is preferably stored in a plurality of reproducibleinformation segments or packets, each of which preferably comprises acomplete video/audio information message, whether it is produced from anequal number of video tracks and audio tracks in the instance of"non-shared video" or less video tracks than audio tracks in theinstance of "shared video" in the example of a dichotomizedpresentation, with each of these complete messages being reproducibleupon playback by the conventional multitrack playback head or meansassociated with playing back of this information prior to processing. Ofcourse, any conventional playback means other than a multi-trackplayback head, such as a plurality of separate playback heads, may beemployed. The manner of provision of the reproducible informationsegments or packets as a plurality of different information signalsrelated in real time and content to each other is similar to the mannerof operation described in the aforementioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,947,972and 4,078,316, prior to the employment of the aformentioned frequencyseparation and multiplexing of the system 200 of the present invention.

By way of example, the plurality of different information messagesignals which are related in real time and content to each other couldcomprise an interrogatory message associated with a given track or key294a-294d and simultaneously provided various types of responsivemessages, associated with the balance of the keys 294a-294d, with theresponsive messages and the interrogatory messages being preferablyrelated in real time and content to one another in a conversational realtime environment so as to provide a two-way interactive effect in whatis, in reality, a one-way cable television system. In addition, such anarrangement would provide an enhanced educational value for members ofthe mass audience serviced by distribution network 204. In such apresentation, the particular key 294a-294d which at a given timecorresponds to the interrogatory message of that particular time relatedsegment of the multi-information packet may also contain additionalinstructional information. Thus, for a particular real time relatedinterrogatory message, the other time related information messagesignals whose content, by way of example, are the incorrect responsivemessages for the particular interrogatory message content of one of theplurality of simultaneously transmitted information message signals maypreferably contain instructional messages corresponding to selection ofan incorrect responsive message which are related in real time andcontent to the particular interrogatory message in that particularsegment of the multi-information packet. If desired the so-calledselective responsive messages, which correspond to the balance of thekeys 294a-294d, for a given interrogatory information message or signalof the multi-information packet segment may also initially contain aresponsive multiple choice message further indicating that if theindividual subscriber wishes to learn more about the topic of thequestion asked, then the subscriber should depress or enable aparticular key 294a-294d on keyboard 294 which will result in thefrequency selection and display of the information message signalcontaining the additional information in the manner previouslydescribed. In such an instance, when the subscriber activates thatparticular key on keyboard 294, a predetermined length segment ofadditional information relating to the topic would be received ontelevision reception channel A. If this or another subscriber, however,did not want such additional information to be received on channel A,then the next interrogatory message, either associated with the same keyas for the previous interrogatory message or with a different key otherthan the one which for that particular instant was associated with theadditional information selection, would be substantially simultaneouslyprovided or transmitted with the subscriber then preferably beingconfined to selection of an answer or responsive message associated withthe remaining keys on keyboard 294 for that particular multi-informationpacket segment, with the extent in time of this subsequent interrogatorymessage preferably being equivalent to the extent in time of theadditional information provided contemporaneously during thatmulti-information packet segment. Thus, as previously mentioned, thevarious information segments stored on the prerecorded multi-informationtelevision program source 216 and provided therefrom so as to besimultaneously transmitted in multi-information packet segments are setup so as to be time related with the plurality of different informationmessage signals in a given multi-information packet segment, aspreviously mentioned, preferably being related to each other not only inreal time but in content as well, and with the transmittedmulti-information packet segment further having each of the relateddifferent information message signals being separated from each other byfrequency. This time relationship allows an individual controllable andeducational experience for each subscriber in the mass audience and,moreover, as will be described in greater detail hereinafter withrespect to the memory accumulation and label changing features of thesystem of the present invention, enables specific information messages,such as advertisements or educational material, to be tailoredsimultaneously to different specific audiences. Thus, the system of thepresent invention, although being similar in certain aspects to theaformentioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,078,316 and 3,947,972 with repect to thedesired relationship in real time and content of the respectivedifferent information messages, is vastly different from these systems,particularly in the relatively unlimited flexibility of the system 200of the present invention with respect to both capacity of the system andcontent. Moreover, in the instance of the presently preferred embodimentof the system 200 illustrated in FIG. 1, there is a further differencein that the plurality of different information message signals which arerelated in real time and content in the multi-information packet aresimultaneously transmitted for selection and display over a commontelevision channel without any modification to the actual conventionalmultichannel television receiver 224 and, if desired, may be provided toone subscriber while another subscriber receives regular programming onthat same channel.

For purposes of illustration, and assuming that corresponding videoinformation is being simultaneously displayed, if desired, with theaudio information portion, a sample information content of a typicalmulti-information packet segment is provided below with the assumptionthat the transmission selection is among four keys 294a-294d. Forpurposes of illustration in the example given below, the informationlabeled Q corresponds to key 294a for this multi-information packetsegment, the information content labeled T, Y, A corresponds to key294b, the information segment labeled F, N, B corresponds to key 294c,and the information segment labeled MORE, C corresponds to key 294d.

    ______________________________________                                        SAMPLE CONTEMPORANEOUS                                                        INTERACTIVE PROGRAM TRANSMISSION FORMAT                                       ______________________________________                                        Q       much . . . . This is a true/false question.                                   Columbus discovered America in 1520. Answer true or                           false now . . . .                                                     T Y A   you another question . . . . This is a true/false question.                   Columbus discovered America in 1520. Answer true or                           false now . . . .                                                     F N B   you another question . . . . This is a true/false question.                   Columbus discovered America in 1520. Answer true or                           false now . . . .                                                     MORE C  enables a person to determine direction. Since there are                      large magnetic deposits at the north pole, a magnetic                         compass will point to the                                             Q       You have not chosen. It is too late . . . .                                   Keep waiting . . . . . . . . Here is your                                     next question etc. etc.                                               T Y A   , Not correct. Columbus discovered America in 1492.                           You chose the wrong answer . . . . Here is your                               next question etc. etc.                                               F N B   , Correct, Correct. Columbus discovered America in                            1492 as you probably know. Good work . . . .                                  Here is your next question etc. etc.                                  MORE C  north pole from anywhere on earth. This can help a                            traveler find his way . . . . Here is your                                    next question etc. etc.                                               Q       Where does the word news come from? I will give you                           three choices; A the Greek word for nap, snooze; B the                        points on a compass, or C nobody knows.                               Y A     Where does the word news come from? I will give you                           three choices; A the Greek word for nap, snooze; B the                        points on a compass, or C nobody knows.                               N B     Where does the word news come from? I will give you                           three choices; A the Greek word for nap, snooze; B the                        points on a compass, or C nobody knows.                               MORE C  Where does the word news come from? I will give you                           three choices; A the Greek word for nap, snooze; B the                        points on a compass, or C nobody knows.                               Q       Choose A, B, or C now . . . . you chose no answer.                            You are a big dummy. Just wait and I will ask you                             another question . . . . I know you are still                         Y A     Choose A, B, or C now . . . . you chose A and you                             are not correct. The word news comes from the points                          of a compass N, north; E, east; W west; and                           N B     Choose A, B, or C now . . . . you chose B and you are                         correct. N, north; E, east; W, west, and S, south. You                        are correct and a very smart child.                                   MORE C  Choose A, B, or C now . . . . you chose C and you are                         not correct. The word news comes from the points on a compass                 N, north; E, east; W, west; and                                       Q       waiting but you should have chosen an answer . . . . To                       learn about a compass, push MORE button . . . . I can                         see you don't like to push buttons                                    T Y A   S, south. If you would like to learn more about the                           compass push the "MORE" button now . . . . Since you                          have not selected "MORE" I will ask                                   F N B   If you would like to learn more about the compass push                        the "MORE" information button now . . . . Since you                           have not selected "MORE" I will ask                                   MORE C  S, south. If you would like to learn more about the                           compass push the "MORE" button now . . . . Thank                              you. A compass is a device that                                       ______________________________________                                    

In the example given above, it should be noted that the informationmessage signals associated with each of the keys 294a-294d in theparticular multi-information packet segment are preferably continuouslyprovided, during program transmission, with blank spaces being providedat appropriate real time related intervals in the prerecordedinformation, and correspondingly in the transmission, for theappropriate separated information message signals so as to relate theplurality of different information message signals provided in the givenmulti-information packet segment in real time and content. Of course, ifdesired, the program transmission may contain interruptions so as toallow the subscriber time to perform additional work at home, such ascomputations.

The above is just an example of one type of information content whichmay be transmitted with the various types of information beingunlimited, such as game programs which allow interaction with thesubscriber at home enabling the individual subscribers to individuallycompete in games of skill and chance, and automatic scoring such asthrough the use of prerecorded scoring signals associated with eachdifferent information message signal and a conventional sensor in themulti-information selection controller 254 which will sense the keyselected at a given time and thereby accumulate the score by detectingthe transmitted scoring code. Thus, the entertainment value of thepresently preferred system 200 of the present invention is potentiallyvery vast, primarily due to its flexibility.

An example of such flexibility is the memory accumulation and labelchanging features which are illustrated with reference to FIGS. 12 and13A-13D, by way of example. With respect to FIG. 12, a logic decisiontree is illustrated for a sequence of multi-information packet segmentsin which the sex of the subscriber is individually determined,thereafter the age group of the subscriber is individually determined,and finally a particular tailored information message for the subscriberin that sex group and age group is presented, thus enabling tailoredadvertising messages as well as tailored educational messages to besubstantially simultaneously presented on an individual basis to eachsubscriber. This technique is preferably termed "memory accumulation".Thus, in the following example, the subscriber is first asked: "are youa male or female, look at the screen and answer appropriately". FIG. 13Aillustrates a typical video presentation corresponding to this audiomessage. The presentation in FIG. 13A, in the example given, illustratesa visual display of the keys 294a-294d with 294b and 294c beingblackened out so as to indicate to the subscriber that these keys arenot to be employed at this time, and with keys 294a and 294d beinghighlighted and "labeled" on the screen as male and female,respectively. If the subscriber is a male, he should then depress key294a. He will then hear: "thank you sir; now look at the screen and pushthe key that corresponds to your age group". For purposes ofillustration, the age groups have been defined as "over 21" or "under21", although it may be segmented in any manner desired. FIG. 13Billustrates a typical video presentation corresponding to this question.Again, the keys which are not to be employed at this time are blackenedout, with these keys in FIG. 13B by way of example, corresponding tokeys 294c and 294d. The subscriber then should depress either key 294aor 294b, depending on his age grouping, and the next information whichhe receives is a tailored information message directed to him either asa male over 21 or as a male under 21, with the audio portion, ifdesired, containing an introductory message stating that: "I now knowyou are a male over 21 [or under 21], here is a special question [ormessage] specifically for you". In addition, in place of or in additionto this message an advertisement specifically tailored for that sex andage group may be presented enabling an advertiser to gear commericals tosegmented audiences for maximum exposure and results. In addition,different types of video or audio messages could then be provideddepending on whether it was a male or female audience or different ageaudience and the difficulty and content of the questions could also bevaried dependent on sex and age grouping. Assuming the subscriber is amale, then the presentations represented by FIGS. 13A and 13B would haveappeared on the screen of the subscriber's television receiver 224.Assuming, however, that another subscriber is a female, then the visualpresentations represented by FIGS. 13A and 13C would have appeared, byway of example, on the screen of that subscriber's television receiver224a, in accordance with appropriate selection, at the same time thatthe previously mentioned presentations were appearing on the screen ofthe responding male subscriber. Thus, the above illustrates but one ofthe many flexibilities of the system in terms of label changing andsegmenting of audience so as to provide individualized messages ortelevision reception to each of the subscribers in the subscriberdistribution network who utilize the multi-information interface network226 of the present invention. FIG. 13D is merely illustrative of theultimate tailored display. In addition to the above, as previouslydescribed with reference to subscriber television reception system 208,while individual subscribers are receiving television programminginformation specifically tailored to them in the manner described above,subscribers who do not have the presently preferred multi-informationinterface network 226 of the present invention, or who do not wish toreceive this tailored information, for example, may receive regularprogramming on the designated television reception channel A.

Referring now to FIG. 14, another example of the flexibility of thesystem 200 of the present invention is illustrated. The example shown inFIG. 14 is for a talking calculator, again illustrating the dynamiclabel changing flexibility of the system. In such an instance, the keys294a-294d may be "labeled" with mathematical symbols "+", "-", "×" and"÷", respectively, in the video display provided on the screen on theconventional television receiver 224 with, if desired, accompanyingpictorial information. In such an instance, the audio message providedto the subscriber, by way of example, could be "18 and 3, choose yourfunction". In such an instance, if the subscriber depresses key 294a,the subscriber will hear the answer "twenty-one" which may also bedisplayed on the screen in any manner desired. Similarly, if thesubscriber depresses key 294b, the subscriber will hear the answer"fifteen" with an accompanying video display if desired; if thesubscriber depresses key 294c, the subscriber will hear " fifty four"with an appropriate video display if desired; and if the subscriberdepresses key 294d, the subscriber will hear "six" with an appropriatevideo display if desired. Similarly, the function labels can bedynamically changed in the video display with the transmitted answerscorrespondingly being changed in real time.

Thus, the presently preferred system 200 of the present inventionenables instant label changes to dynamically occur which significantlyenhances the flexibility of the system 200, such as enabling meaningfulmemory accumulation to occur. In addition, the coordinated audio andvisual information provided in this system provides enhanced effectssuch as video display of pages in books, diagrams and symbols whichcould be directly associated with the keys 294-294d to be selected or,if desired, at any given time, a key 294a-294d could be directlyassociated with an event such as by visually depicting arrows drawn fromthe respective key choices displayed on the screen to various points ina maze with the subscriber being asked to select which point in the mazethe subscriber expects a moving figure to exit from. Moreover, the keyscan be visually labeled in any manner which dynamically changes, such asby providing pictures instead of words next to the keys, or by providingwhatever is desired by the creator of the programming provided from thehead end 202.

In addition to the above exemplary functions, other illustrations of thepotential flexibility available in the system of the present inventionare in performance of the type of functions described in detail in theaforementioned U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,078,316 and 3,947,972. In this regard,by way of example, story programs may be provided which enable thesubscriber to actually have a part on an individualized basis informulating the story and helping to dynamically determine its outcome.This is accomplished by transmitting information which has beenprerecorded and stored in such a manner so as to enable branching backand forth between the various tracks or time related information signalsso as to provide an interactive story which is preferably stored andtransmitted in spatial relationship between the various time relatedinformation signals and/or tracks so that the subscriber can chooseoptions that formulate a story line with these options being related todifferent scenarios. For example, by using such an option approximatelyten times during a thirty minute story presentation, hundreds ofdifferent ways in which the story can evolve occur. An example of such astory program is illustrated below. For purposes of illustration, thefollowing key designation, in the example below, is associated with thevarious different information signals, with the label Q corresponding tokey 294a, with the label B corresponding to key 294c, with the label Acorresponding to key 294b and with the label C corresponding to key294d.

    ______________________________________                                        STORY FORMULATION                                                             PROGRAM TRANSMISSION EXAMPLE                                                  ______________________________________                                        Q      Superman is after some criminals but Super-                                   man is in big trouble. The Kryptonite is                                      about to make him powerless. What should                                      Superman do. A, run. B, call Batman. Or                                       C, continue even with the danger. Please                                      answer NOW . . . .                                                     B      Superman is after some criminals but Super-                                   man is in big trouble. The Kryptonite is                                      about to make him powerless. What should                                      Superman do. A, run. B, call Batman. Or                                       C, continue even with the danger. Please                                      answer NOW . . . .                                                     A      Superman is after some criminals but Super-                                   man is in big trouble. The Kryptonite is                                      about to make him powerless. What should                                      Superman do. A, run. B, call Batman. Or                                       C, continue even with the danger. Please                                      answer now . . . .                                                     C      Superman is after some criminals but Super-                                   man is in big trouble. The Kryptonite is                                      about to make him powerless. What should                                      Superman do. A, run. B, call Batman. Or                                       C, continue even with the danger. Please                                      answer NOW . . . .                                                     Q      . . . . . .                                                            B      . . . . . .                                                            A      . . . . . .                                                            C      . . . . . .                                                            Q      Since you have not chosen, I will choose                                      `A` for you. Superman runs away since he                                      could die from the Kryptonite. Although                                       he leaves quickly, the Kryptonite still                                       has had a bad effect on Superman. He has                                      headaches and feels weak. What should he                                      do. A, nothing. B, go to a hospital where                                     they find out he is really Clark Kent. Or C,                                  admit who he is and get Lois Lane to help.                                    Please choose your answer NOW . . . .                                  B      So as you suggest, Superman calls Batman.                                     Batman comes but is unable, on his own, to                                    fight the criminals. So both of them fight                                    but Superman is affected by the present                                       Kryptonite. After the fight Superman faints                                   and Batman does not know what to do. He                                       needs your help. Should Batman A, just hope                                   Superman recovers. B, go to a hospital where                                  they are bound to find out he is Clark Kent.                                  Or C, call Lois Lane for advice. Choose                                       your answer NOW . . . .                                                A      So as you suggest, Superman runs away since                                   he could die from the Kryptonite. Although                                    he leaves quickly, the Kryptonite still has                                   had a bad effect on Superman. He has head-                                    aches and feels weak. What should he do.                                      A, nothing. B, go to a hospital where they                                    may find out he is really Clark Kent. Or C,                                   admit who he is and get Lois Lane to help.                                    Please choose your answer NOW . . . .                                  C      So Superman, being a brave fighter of criminals                               risks his own life to fight them. Of course                                   Superman wins, but the Kryptonite has made him                                very blind and Superman blames you since you                                  decided this for him. What are you going to                                   do to help him now. Should Superman A, continue                               as a blind man and be careful as he flies.                                    B, go get medical help where he will have to                                  admit he is Clark Kent. Or C, call Lois Lane                                  for assistance. Please choose NOW . . . .                              Q      . . . . . .                                                            B      . . . . . .                                                            A      . . . . . .                                                            C      . . . . . .                                                            Q      I will choose for you. So Superman does                                       nothing and hopes his condition is temporary.                                 He must be very careful now because anyone                                    seeing his condition and Clark Kent might                                     realize that they are one in the same.                                 B      So Superman goes to a hospital for medical                                    help. Luckily, the doctors and nurses are                                     very busy and Superman is able to change                                      into regular clothes before anyone sees                                       him. When he is examined, nobody is sus-                                      picious that this may be Superman.                                     A      So Superman does nothing an hopes his                                         condition is temporary. He must be very                                       careful now because anyone seeing his con-                                    dition and Clark Kent might realize that                                      they are one in the same.                                              C      So Lois Lane gets involved and becomes very                                   suspicious of what is going on here. Although                                 Superman is afraid he will have to admit who                                  he really is, it turns out that Lois Lane                                     must leave on an important assignment from                                    Perry White. Superman is relieved and never                                   does Lois find out the truth.                                          Q      The next day, Superman is supposed to attend                                  the opening of a new police headquarters                                      in Metropolis. Do you think he should attend.                                 Please answer yes or no NOW . . . .                                    B      The next day, Superman is supposed to attend                                  the opening of a new police headquarters                                      in Metropolis. Do you think he should attend.                                 Please answer yes or no NOW . . . .                                    A      The next day, Superman is supposed to attend                                  the opening of a new police headquarters                                      in Metropolis. Do you think he should attend.                                 Please answer yes or no NOW . . . .                                    C      The next day, Superman is supposed to attend                                  the opening of a new police headquarters in                                   Metropolis. Do you think he should attend.                                    Please answer yes or no NOW . . . .                                    Q      Since you have not decided Superman has                                       decided to go. So in his disabled con-                                        dition Superman attends the opening of the                                    new police headquarters.                                               B      You are mixed up. You can't help Superman                                     if you cannot even follow instructions.                                       In any case Superman has decided to go and                                    attends the opening of the new police head-                                   quarters in his disabled condition.                                    A      So in his disabled condition Superman takes                                   your advice and attends the opening of the                                    new police headquarters.                                               C      So in his disabled condition Superman takes                                   your advice and does not attend the opening                                   of the new police headquarters.                                        ______________________________________                                    

As will be readily apparent, the above story information formulationapproach will enable individual subscribers in a subscriber distributionnetwork to individually interact with and form there own story which,depending on the choice provided, would preferably have accompanyingvideo presentation such as a cartoon or actual film footage depictingthe event selected so that the audio and visual presentation wouldcreate an individualized story for each subscriber participating in thatactivity.

Referring now to FIGS. 8 and 9, alternative embodiments are illustratedfor the individual subscriber television reception systems 206', 206" ofthe system of the present inventors which are usable in situations whereregular programming information for the designated channel, such aschannel A, is not transmitted from the head end 202 at the time that themulti-information packets are transmitted. In such an instance, thosesubscribers who did not have the multi-information selection controller254 would not receive any information on the designated channel A duringthe transmission of the multi-information programming. Moreover, theentire multi-information interface network 226 previously described withreference to FIG. 2, would not be needed and merely themulti-information selector controller 254 could be employed andconnected in parallel with the conventional CATV multichannel controller222 if one is needed or, as illustrated in FIG. 9, if no such controller222 is needed by the subscriber, then the multi-information selectioncontroller 254 could be connected in parallel with the normal input tothe television receiver 224. The arrangement illustrated in FIGS. 10 and11 is an alternative embodiment of the presently preferred system 200 ofthe present invention in which the prerecorded video/audiomulti-information is individually transmitted on a channel-by-channelbasis with one track being dedicated, or associated, with each channel.This, of course, requires that a plurality of channels equal in numberto the number of selectable tracks be dedicated to the multi-channelselection program transmission which, although simpler to implement thanthe presently preferred system 200 of the present invention, is not asefficient and, moreover, will put additional usage demands on the tuneror channel selector of the television receiver 224 in order to switchback and forth between channels during the presentation of themulti-information program which may be undesirable in some instances.However, one of the primary benefits of the system of FIGS. 10 and 11 isthat it essentially requires no additional equipment to be put in thehome of the subscriber, whereas the presently preferred system 200 ofthe present invention requires that addition of a specialmulti-information interface network 226 or, at the very least, theaddition of a special multi-information selection controller 254. Thepreferred method of the present invention illustrated in FIGS. 10 and 11may preferably be employed for providing an individually controllablereal time interactive conversational type response from a plurality ofmultichannel audio information signal receivers, such as illustrativelyrepresented by conventional subscriber television reception systems orstations 12 and 14 in FIG. 10, over a common subscriber distributionnetwork 16. With respect to the following description, it should benoted that conventional multichannel TV receivers 22 and 24 in FIG. 10correspond to television receiver 24 in FIG. 1 and RF demodulators 18and 20 correspond to RF demodulator 220 in FIG. 1.

With respect to the subscriber television reception systems or stations12 and 14 in such an illustrative CATV subscriber distribution network16, the subscriber stations preferably comprise a conventional RFmodulator 18 and 20, respectively, and conventional multichannel TV ortelevision receivers 22 and 24, respectively, which each conventionallyprovide an audio output and a corresponding video display asillustratively, diagrammatically represented in FIG. 10 by blocks 26 and28 for subscriber station 12 and blocks 30 and 32, respectively, forsubscriber station 14. FIG. 11 diagrammatically illustrates thesignificant portions of a typical conventional multichannel TV receiver22 but is not meant in any way to be a true representation of theassociated conventional circuitry accomplishing the functionsillustrated in FIG. 11. Thus, FIG. 11 represents the channel selectorfunction 34 of the conventional multichannel TV receiver 22, with onlychannels A, B, C and D and X being specifically represented by way ofexample, although such conventional multichannel TV receivers 22 haveconsiderably more channels particularly when employed in conjunctionwith a CATV television system; the block labeled "processed audio input"and given reference numeral 36 represents the function of theconventional TV receiver 22 circuitry which processes the incoming audiosignal in order to provide an audio output which is represented by block26, graphically illustrating a conventional speaker 38 and optionalheadphones 40; and a conventional volume control function 42 forconventionally controlling the volume of the audio output 26.

Now referring again to FIG. 11, a plurality of separate contemporaneouscomplete audio/video information messages are simultaneously transmittedover a plurality of contemporaneous channels, such as the illustratedchannels A, B, C and D, to the aforementioned plurality of multichanneltelevision receivers 12, 14 through the common subscriber distributionnetwork 16, with each of the plurality of channels A, B, C, Dsimultaneously containing the contemporaneous audio/video informationmessages thereon such as previously described with reference to FIG. 1.As illustrated by FIG. 11, one manner of accomplishing this may be byemploying a multitrack storage device 50 of the type described in U.S.Pat. No. 3,947,972 or 4,078,316. The multitrack storage device 50illustrated in FIG. 11 is shown as being the type employed in theaforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,316. Thus, the contents of U.S. Pat.No. 4,078,316 as they relate to the operation of such a multitrackstorage device 50 are preferably hereby specifically incorporated byreference in their entirety; however, for purposes of completeness theappropriate portions will be reiterated herein. Suffice it to say atthis time, that the multitrack storage device 50 preferably contains onetrack for each of the corresponding assigned channels to besimultaneously transmitted, with these tracks being labeled track A,track B, track C, and track D corresponding to channels A, B, C and D,respectively. A separate conventional audio amplifier 52, 54, 56, 58,respectively, is preferably provided for each of the channels A, B, C,and D, with the respective outputs of these audio amplifiers 52 through58, being conventional and being conventionally provided to theconventional television transmitter circuitry for each of the channels Athrough D, diagrammatically illustrated by blocks 60, 62, 64, and 66,respectively, in FIG. 10. Since the illustrated system in FIG. 10 is aCATV television distribution system, the outputs of the respectiveconventional channel transmitters 60 through 66 are respectivelyprovided to conventional CATV RF modulators 68, 70, 72 and 74,respectively, to provide the conventional channel A, channel B, channelC and channel D television signals which comprise at least theaforementioned audio information messages and which may also comprisecorresponding video information, if desired to provide subscriberselectable multi-information television programming.

As previously mentioned, only four such interactive type channels areillustrated, although the conventional CATV distribution system maysimultaneously provide several additional channels of regular CATVtelevision programming such as illustratively represented by the blocklabeled "channel X TV transmitter" given reference numeral 76 and itsassociated conventional CATV RF modulator 78, with channel X also beingdiagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 11 as being part of theconventional channel selector function 34. Thus, not only can regulartelevision programming be transmitted at the same time as themulti-information television programming the contemporaneous audioand/or video information messages being provided on channels A through Dbut, when such audio information messages are not provided on channels Athrough D, these channels can also carry regular television programmingwith this feature being diagrammatically illustrated in FIG. 10 byswitches 80, 82, 84 and 86 connected to the outputs of the audioamplifiers 52, 54, 56 and 58, respectively, with these switches 80through 86, respectively, being in the closed position in FIG. 10.

Thus, the multitrack storage device 50 illustrated in FIG. 10conventionally employs a magnetic storage medium, such as a multitrackmagnetic tape 88, which may be driven by a conventional capstan drivesuch as provided via a conventional pressure roller 90 and conventionalcapstan 92 which are driven by a conventional motor drive 94 so as toprovide the aforementioned conventional capstan drive of the multitrackmagnetic tape 88. A conventional multitrack magnetic playback head 96 isconventionally employed with multitrack magnetic tape 88 for preferablyconventionally simultaneously reading or playing back all of the tracksA through D of the tape 88 in order to simultaneously play back theaudio information stored on these tracks A through D and conventionallyprovide them to the audio amplifiers 52, 54, 56 and 58 respectively,corresponding to tracks A, B, C, and D, respectively. For purposes ofillustration, track D is termed the question or interrogatory track, aswill be described in greater detail hereinafter, because of the natureof the information stored thereon. Although the lowermost track, trackD, is illustratively shown as the question track, any of the tracks Athrough D could be designated as the question track if desired.Moreover, as will further be described in greater detail hereinafter,the information is preferably stored on the tracks of the magnetic tape88 in a plurality of reproducible information segments or packets, eachof which preferably comprises a complete audio and/or video informationmessage which is reproducible upon playback by the conventionalmultitrack playback head 96. It should be noted that, of course,separate playback heads could be employed for each of the tracks Athrough D as opposed to a single multitrack playback head 96. The extentof the aforementioned reproducible information segments areillustratively represented in FIG. 10 by the spacing between a pair ofsolid vertical lines on a given track, with it being assumed that audioinformation messages are provided from playback head 96.

The aforementioned audio amplifiers 52, 54, 56, and 58 conventionallyplayback the information stored on the respective audio tracks A throughD which is simultaneously read out or played back by playback head 96and subsequently provide these outputs to the aforementioned respectivetelevision transmitters 60, 62, 64 and 66, with switches 80, 82, 84 and86 being in the closed position, at the television studio or head endrepresented by reference numeral 100. As will be described in greaterdetail hereinafter, the individually controllable selection of theparticular track A through D to be heard is accomplished in conventionalfashion by a subscriber or member of the mass audience serviced by theCATV subscriber distribution network 16 by means of the conventionalchannel selector 34 employed with the conventional multichannel TVreceiver 22, 24 in the same manner as regular programming is selected.Moreover, as previously mentioned, the above may preferably be employed,by way of example, in addition to conventional regular programming tosupplement it and may share the same channels used for regularprogramming, with regular programming being simultaneously available onother channels or, if desired, certain channels may be dedicated to thistype of interactive conversational type programming or multi-informationprogramming while others provide regular programming. With respect tothe conventional channel selector 34, in the example shown, channel Dcorresponds to the question or interrogatory track, with channelpositions A, B and C, respectively, corresponding to the tracks A, B,and C, respectively, on the magnetic tape 88. As previously mentionedwith reference to the embodiment of FIG. 1, "labels" for each of thechannels may be visually displayed on the television screen, anddynamically changed, so as to effectively convert each of the channelpositions for channels A through D into multipurpose or functionpositions such as by "labeling" the channel A position as "A", "yes",and "true"; by "labeling" the channel B position as "B", "false", and"no"; by "labeling" the channel C position as "C" and "more"; and by"labeling" the channel D position as "question".

In addition, as illustratively shown in FIG. 10, the multitrack storagedevice 50 may be conventionally powered by a conventional power supply104, such as either a DC power supply or an AC power supply, dependingon the desired operating conditions, for supplying power to enable theoperation of the motor 32 and, if desired, the audio amplifiers 52, 54,56 and 58, with a conventional on/off switch 106 being provided for themotor 94 which drives the magnetic storage device 50. As previouslymentioned, when switch 106 is closed along with switches 80, 82, 84 and86, the output of the corresponding audio tracks A, B, C and D arepreferably provided to the audio amplifiers 52 through 58, inclusive,and therefrom to the conventional TV transmitters 60 through 66,inclusive, associated with these channels and out onto the air over theCATV subscriber distribution network 16 to the various subscriberstations 12, 14 along with regular television programming, such asprovided via transmitter 76, for individually controllable selection byany subscriber in the mass audience via his/her channel selector 34.With respect to the aforementioned visually displayed labels, it maypreferably comprise any label arrangement for the associated channelsemployed on channel selector 34 in connection with the programming ofdesignated conversational type interaction such as the aforementionedconfiguration or, for example, if the information to be transmitted inthis program format, such as from multitrack storage device 50, is to bea mathematical information program format then channel A could be"labeled", "A", "greater than", "true"; channel B could be "labeled","B", "less than", "false"; channel C could be "labeled" "C", "equal to";and channel D could again be "labeled" "question", although any otherdesired label configuration could also be provided dependent on theinformation to be transmitted in the multi-information televisionprogramming interactive conversational type program format.

If desired, of course, the magnetic tape 88 may contain thesophisticated format employed in U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,972, the contentsof which are also hereby specifically incorporated by reference in theirentirety, or the more simplified format described in U.S. Pat. No.4,078,316, the contents of which were previously specificallyincorporated by reference herein in their entirety. Assuming thesimplified format of the aforementioned U.S. Pat. No. 4,078,316 isemployed, then the magnetic tape 88 would contain a single primaryquestion or interrogatory message track, track D, with the other threeremaining tracks in the example given, tracks A, B, and C, allsimultaneously preferably containing the same question at the same timeand thereafter containing various types of responsive messages, with theresponsive messages and the interrogatory messages being preferablyrelated in real time and content to one another in a conversational realtime environment so as to provide an enhanced educational value formembers of the mass audience serviced by the distribution network 16,while the other three tracks A through C, corresponding to channels Athrough C, contain responsive messages to the question, the primaryquestion track, track D, corresponding to channel D, preferably containsadditional instructional information. Thus, for a particular real timerelated interrogatory message contained on the question track, such astrack D, and correspondingly transmitted over channel D, the trackscontaining the incorrect responsive messages for the particularinterrogatory message may preferably contain instructional messagescorresponding to selection of an incorrect responsive message which arerelated in real time and content to the particular interrogatory messagecontained on track D and transmitted over channel D or may also containadditional information, labeled "more", on a given topic. For example,each of the responsive tracks, A through C, which are correspondinglytransmitted via channels A through C, respectively, can initiallycontain a responsive multiple choice message further indicating that ifthe individual subscriber wishes to learn more about the topic of thequestion asked then he/she should switch to channel C. In such aninstance, when the subscriber switched to channel C, a predeterminedlength segment of additional information relating to the topic would beheard. If this or another subscriber, however, did not want additionalinformation, then the next interrogatory message on track D provided viachannel D would be confined to selection of an answer or responsivemessage contained on tracks A and B provided via channels A and B,respectively, whose extent in time would be equivalent to the extent oftime of the additional information contained on track C providedcontemporaneously via channel C. Thus, as previously mentioned, thevarious information segments on tape 88, and correspondingly the variouscontemporaneous audio information message transmissions via channels Athrough D are set up so as to be time related. Moreover, this timerelationship allows a multiple use of the type previously describedherein of each of the channels or tracks and enables the aforementionedindividual controllable and different educational experience for eachsubscriber in the mass audience. For example, as mentioned above, in theinstance where more information is to be provided to an individualsubscriber, then the next question on track D or correspondingly channelD could be confined to a yes/no or a true/false question if desired.Preferably, as previously mentioned, although track D or channel D isessentially the question track or channel, in the example given, all ofthe tracks or channels simultaneously contain the question prior toselection of a responsive message thereto with the exception that whenthe more information condition is present, that track, track C orchannel C by way of example, does not contain the question being askedon the other tracks or channels while "more" information is provided.This function is different from the system described by way of examplein U.S. Pat. No. 3,947,972, where one track and one track only wasexclusively a question or interrogatory message track.

In the examples given above with respect to the embodiment of FIG. 1,and which would also apply hereto, it should be noted that, as appliedhereto, the information transmitted on each of the channels A through Dis preferably continuously provided, during program transmission, suchas being continuous on the tape 88, with blank spaces being provided atappropriate real time related intervals on the tape 88, andcorrespondingly in the transmission, for the appropriate channels so asto relate the information provided on the various channels A through Din real time and content, such time relation being illustratively shownin the above examples by the illustrative alignment of the informationillustrated above.

Thus, as described above, the interactive cable television system of thepresent invention has enhanced entertainment value and flexibilityenabling true individualized interaction in the home by the individualsubscribers in what is, in reality, a one way television transmissionsystem having all of the resultant transmission advantages associatedwith such a one way television system including the capabilities thatthe information may be transmitted over microwave and/or satellite andthat the number of participating subscribers has no effect at the headend.

It is to be understood that the above described embodiments of theinvention are merely illustrative of the principles thereof and numerousmodifications and embodiments of the invention may be derived within thespirit and scope thereof, such as by time multiplexing the prerecordedinformation to provide the aforementioned multi-information packets orby employing multiple scoring with tone discrimination among multiplereceivers to enable a plurality of players to take part and be scored inthe same game.

What is claimed is:
 1. An interactive cable television systemcomprisinga plurality of subscriber television reception systems, eachof said subscriber television reception systems comprising amultichannel television receiver, each of said multichannel televisionreceivers having a plurality of different television reception channels,each of said television reception channels having a different associatedcommunication frequency; a cable television subscriber distributionnetwork operatively connected to said plurality of subscriber televisionreception systems; and a cable television programming transmission meansoperatively connected to said subscriber distribution network forproviding transmitted television programming thereto, said subscriberdistribution networks providing said transmitted television programmingto said plurality of subscriber television reception systems, said cabletelevision programming transmission means comprising means forsubstantially simultaneously providing a multiplexed multi-informationtelevision program communication signal along with at least onedifferent regular television program information signal as saidtransmitted television programming to said subscriber distributionnetwork; said multiplexed multi-information television programcommunication signal comprising a plurality of multi-informationpackets, each multi-information packet comprising a plurality ofsimultaneously provided different program information message signalsrelated in real time and content to each other, each of said differentprogram information message signals in said multi-information packetbeing at a different associated communication frequency different fromeach other, and different from said television reception channelassociated frequencies whereby said different program informationmessage signals in said packet are frequency separated from each otherand not directly receivable on said television reception channels; saidone different regular television program information signal having anassociated communication frequency corresponding to a televisionreception channel frequency and being directly selectably receivable onthe corresponding television reception channel; each of saidmultichannel television receivers being capable of independentlyselectably receiving information on any one of said plurality ofdifferent television reception channels dependent on the televisionreception channel selected; at least one of said subscriber televisionreception systems further comprising a multi-information selectioninterface means operatively connected between said subscriberdistribution network and said multichannel television receiver, saidmulti-information selection interface means comprising first signalseparation means operatively connected to said subscriber distributionnetwork for demultiplexing said multiplexed multi-information televisionprogram communication signal and providing a first pass band outputsignal comprising only said multi-information packets of said frequencyseparated related different program information message signals, andsignal selection means operatively connected to said first signalseparation means for receiving said first pass band output signal andselectably converting any one of the associated frequencies of saidsimultaneously provided frequency separated related different programinformation message signals into the associated frequency of adesignated one of said television reception channels and passing saidselected frequency converted one of said simultaneously providedfrequency separated related different program information messagesignals to said multichannel television receiver in said one subscribertelevision reception system; whereby subscribers in said televisionsystem may independently selectably choose between said regulartelevision programming being transmitted on said correspondingtelevision reception channels and said multi-information televisionprogramming being received on said designated television receptionchannel.
 2. An interactive cable television system in accordance withclaim 1 wherein a designated one of said corresponding televisionreception channel associated frequencies and said designated televisionreception channel associated frequency are the same, said one differentregular television program signal associated frequency corresponding tosaid designated television reception channel associated frequency, saidmulti-information selection interface means further comprising modeselection means operatively connected between said subscriberdistribution network and said first signal selection means for enablingindependent subscriber selection between a normal mode state and amulti-information mode state, said one different regular televisionprogram information signal being selectably passed directly to saidmultichannel television receiver in said normal mode state whilereception of said multiplexed multi-information television programcommunication signal by said first signal separation means is disabled,said multiplexed multi-information television program communicationsignal being selectably provided to said first signal separation meansin said multi-information mode state while direct passage of said onedifferent regular television program information signal to saidmultichannel television receiver at said same associated frequency isdisabled, whereby said subscriber television reception systems employingsaid multi-information selection interface means may selectably receiveeither said multi-information television programming or said regulartelevision programming on the same designated television receptionchannel while other subscriber television reception systems notemploying said multi-information selection interface meanssimultaneously receive only said regular television programming on saidsame designated television reception channel.
 3. An interactive cabletelevision system in accordance with claim 2 wherein said cabletelevision programming transmission means further comprises means forproviding a plurality of different regular television programinformation signals along with said multiplexed multi-informationtelevision program communication signal, each of said different regulartelevision program information signals having a different associatedcommunication frequency, each of said associated regular televisionprogram information signal communication frequencies being differentfrom each other and from said associated different program informationmessage signal frequencies, each of said different regular televisionprogram information signal associated frequencies corresponding to adifferent television reception channel frequency and being directlyselectably receivable on the corresponding television reception channel.4. An interactive cable television system in accordance with claim 3wherein said first signal separation means comprises demultiplexer meansfor demultiplexing said multiplexed multi-information television programcommunication signal and providing a demultiplexed output signalcomprising said plurality of simultaneously provided frequency separatedrelated different program information message signals and first bandpass filter means operatively connected to said demultiplexer means forreceiving said demultiplexed output signal and providing said first passband output signal.
 5. An interactive cable television system inaccordance with claim 4 wherein said signal selection means comprisesmixer means operatively connected to said first band pass filter meansfor receiving said first pass band output signal as one input thereto,means for selectably providing a variable mixing frequency signal toanother input of said mixer means, said mixing frequency signal having aselectably variable associated frequency which when mixed with saidfirst pass band output signal in said mixer means converts the selectedone of said associated frequencies of said simultaneously providedfrequency separated related different program information messagesignals into a mixer output signal comprising said designated televisionreception channel associated frequency, and second band pass filtermeans operatively connected to said mixer means for receiving said mixeroutput signal and providing a second pass band output signal comprisingonly said frequency converted selected one of said plurality of relateddifferent program information signals to said multi-channel televisionreceiver.
 6. An interactive cable television system in accordance withclaim 5 wherein said selectably variable mixing frequency signalproviding means comprises mixing frequency synthesizer means forsynthesizing said mixing frequency signal, keyboard means comprising aplurality of keys for selectably varying the mixing frequency signal tobe synthesized dependent on the key selected and command signal storagemeans operatively connected between said synthesizer means and saidkeyboard means for generating a variable command signal to saidsynthesizer means dependent on the key selected, said synthesizer meansbeing responsive to said variable command signal for determining saidmixing frequency signal based thereon, a different one of said keyscorresponding to a different one of said simultaneously transmittedselectable plurality of related different information message signals.7. An interactive cable television system in accordance with claim 6wherein said command signal storage means comprises read only memorymeans.
 8. An interactive cable television system in accordance withclaim 7 wherein said mixing frequency synthesizer means comprisesdigital mixing frequency synthesizer means comprising a referenceoscillator and a phase locked loop, said phase locked loop comprising atunable voltage controlled oscillator means and a digital frequencydivider means having a selectably variable division ratio, said digitalfrequency divider means being operatively connected in a digitallyvariable feedback servo loop with said voltage controlled oscillator forselectably tuning said voltage controlled oscillator dependent on saidselected frequency divider means division ratio, said keyboardselectable stored command signals corresponding to said variabledivision ratios, said division ratio varying in response to variationsin said keyboard selected command signal.
 9. An interactive cabletelevision system in accordance with claim 8 wherein saidmulti-information selection interface means further comprises secondsignal separation means operatively connected between said subscriberdistribution network and said mode selection means for initiallyfrequency separating said transmitted television programming into saidmultiplexed multi-information television program information signal,said one different regular television program information signal at saiddesignated television reception channel associated frequency and saidplurality of different regular television program information signalshaving associated frequencies other than said designated televisionreception channel associated frequency, said other frequency differentregular television program information signals being passed directly tosaid multichannel television receiver while said multiplexedmulti-information television program information signal and said onedifferent regular television program information signal at saiddesignated channel associated frequency are passed to said modeselection means input, whereby regular television program maysimultaneously be selectably received on all of said televisionreception channels while said designated one of said televisionreception channels may further selectably receive said regulartelevision programming or said still further selectablemulti-information television programming.
 10. An interactive cabletelevision system in accordance with claim 3 wherein saidmulti-information selection interface means further comprises secondsignal separation means operatively connected between said subscriberdistribution network and said mode selection means for initiallyfrequency separating said transmitted television programming into saidmultiplexed multi-information television program information signal,said one different regular television program information signal at saiddesignated television reception channel associated frequency and saidplurality of different regular television program information signalshaving associated frequencies other than said designated televisionreception channel associated frequency, said otgher frequency differentregular television program information signals being passed directly tosaid multichannel television receiver while said multiplexedmulti-information television program information signal and said onedifferent regular television program information signal at saiddesignated channel associated frequency are passed to said modeselection means input, whereby regular television program maysimultaneously be selectably received on all of said televisionreception channels while said designated one of said televisionreception channels may further selectably receive said regulartelevision programming or said still further selectablemulti-information television programming.
 11. An interactive cabletelevision system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said cabletelevision programming transmission means further comprises means forproviding a plurality of different regular television programinformation signals along with said multiplexed multi-informationtelevision program communication signal, each of said different regulartelevision program information signals having a different associatedcommunication frequency, each of said associated regular televisionprogram information signal communication frequencies being differentfrom each other and from said associated different program informationmessage signal frequencies, each of said different regular televisionprogram information signal associated frequencies corresponding to adifferent television reception channel frequency and being directlyselectably receivable on the corresponding television reception channel.12. An interactive cable television system in accordance with claim 1wherein said first signal separation means comprises demultiplexer meansfor demultiplexing said multiplexed multi-information television programcommunication signal and providing a demultiplexed output signalcomprising said plurality of simultaneously provided frequency separatedrelated different program information message signals and first bandpass filter means operatively connected to said demultiplexer means forreceiving said demultiplexed output signal and providing said first passband output signal.
 13. An interactive cable television system inaccordance with claim 12 wherein said signal selection means comprisesmixer means operatively connected to said first band pass filter meansfor receiving said first pass band output signal as one input thereto,means for selectably providing a variable mixing frequency signal toanother input of said mixer means, said mixing frequency signal having aselectably variable associated frequency which when mixed with saidfirst pass band output signal in said mixer means converts the selectedone of said associated frequencies of said simultaneously providedfrequency separated related different program information messagesignals into a mixer output signal comprising said designated televisionreception channel associated frequency, and second band pass filtermeans operatively connected to said mixer means for receiving said mixeroutput signal and providing a second pass band output signal comprisingonly said frequency converted selected one of said plurality of relateddifferent program information signals to said multichannel televisionreceiver.
 14. An interactive cable television system in accordance withclaim 13 wherein said selectably variable mixing frequency signalproviding means comprises mixing frequency synthesizer means forsynthesizing said mixing frequency signal, keyboard means comprising aplurality of keys for selectably varying the mixing frequency signal tobe synthesized dependent on the key selected and command signal storagemeans operatively connected between said synthesizer means and saidkeyboard means for generating a variable command signal to saidsynthesizer means dependent on the key selected, said synthesizer meansbeing responsive to said variable command signal for determining saidmixing frequency signal based thereon, a different one of said keyscorresponding to a different one of said simultaneously transmittedselectable plurality of related different information message signals.15. An interactive cable television system in accordance with claim 14wherein said command signal storage means comprises read only memorymeans.
 16. An interactive cable television system in accordance withclaim 15 wherein said mixing frequency synthesizer means comprisesdigital mixing frequency synthesizer means comprising a referenceoscillator and a phase locked loop, said phase locked loop comprising atunable voltage controlled oscillator means and a digital frequencydivider means having a selectably variable division ratio, said digitalfrequency divider means being operatively connected in a digitallyvariable feedback servo loop with said voltage controlled oscillator forselectably tuning said voltage controlled oscillator dependent on saidselected frequency divider means division ratio, said keyboardselectable stored command signals corresponding to said variabledivision ratios, said division ratio varying in response to variationsin said keyboard selected command signal.
 17. An interactive cabletelevision system in accordance with claim 13 wherein said mixingfrequency synthesizer means comprises digital mixing frequencysynthesizer means comprising a reference oscillator and a phase lockedloop, said phase locked loop comprising a tunable voltage controlledoscillator means and a digital frequency divider means having aselectably variable division ratio, said digital frequency divider meansbeing operatively connected in a digitally variable feedback servo loopwith said voltage controlled oscillator for selectably tuning saidvoltage controlled oscillator dependent on said selected frequencydivider means division ratio, said keyboard selectable stored commandsignals corresponding to said variable division ratios, said divisionratio varying in response to variations in said keyboard selectedcommand signal.
 18. An interactive cable television system in accordancewith claim 1 wherein said signal selection means comprises mixer meansoperatively connected to said first signal separation means forreceiving said first pass band output signal as one input thereto, meansfor selectably providing a variable mixing frequency signal to anotherinput of said mixer means, said mixing frequency signal having aselectably variable associated frequency which when mixed with saidfirst pass band output signal in said mixer means converts the selectedone of said associated frequencies of said simultaneously providedfrequency separated related different program information messagesignals into a mixer output signal comprising said designated televisionreception channel associated frequency, and second band pass filtermeans operatively connected to said mixer means for receiving said mixeroutput signal and providing a second pass band output signal comprisingonly said frequency converted selected one of said plurality of relateddifferent program information signals to said multichannel televisionreceiver.
 19. An interactive cable television system in accordance withclaim 18 wherein said selectably variable mixing frequency signalproviding means comprises mixing frequency synthesizer means forsynthesizing said mixing frequency signal, keyboard means comprising aplurality of keys for selectably varying the mixing frequency signal tobe synthesized dependent on the key selected and command signal storagemeans operatively connected between said synthesizer means and saidkeyboard means for generating a variable command signal to saidsynthesizer means dependent on the key selected, said synthesizer meansbeing responsive to said variable command signal for determining saidmixing frequency signal based thereon, a different one of said keyscorresponding to a different one of said simultaneously transmittedselectable plurality of related different information message signals.20. An interactive cable television system in accordance with claim 19wherein said mixing frequency synthesizer means comprises digital mixingfrequency sythesizer means comprising a reference oscillator and a phaselocked loop, said phase locked loop comprising a tunable voltagecontrolled oscillator means and a digital frequency divider means havinga selectably variable division ratio, said digital frequency dividermeans being operatively connected in a digitally variable feedback servoloop with said voltage controlled oscillator for selectably tuning saidvoltage controlled oscillator dependent on said selected frequencydivider means division ratio, said keyboard selectable stored commandsignals corresponding to said variable division ratios, said divisionratio varying in response to variations in said keyboard selectedcommand signal.
 21. An interactive cable television system in accordancewith claim 1 wherein at least one of said multi-information packetscomprises a plurality of said related different program informationmessage signals in which one of said plurality of related differentprogram information message signals comprises a particular interrogatorymessage and associated multiple choice selectible responses to saidparticular interrogatory message, said other related different programinformation message signals comprising responsive messages related inreal time and content to said one particular interrogatory message andcorresponding to said multiple choice selectible responses, only one ofsaid plurality of other related different program information messagesignals comprising the correct selectible responsive message to saidparticular real time related interrogatory message, said other relateddifferent program information message signals further comprisinginstructional messages corresponding to selection of an incorrectresponsive message which are related in real time and content to saidone particular interrogatory message.
 22. An interactive cabletelevision system in accordance with claim 1 wherein said subscriberdistribution network is a one way television signal distributionnetwork.
 23. An interactive cable television system in accordance withclaim 19 wherein said multi-information packet comprises videoinformation displayable on said multichannel television receivercorresponding to informational labels to be dynamically assigned to saidkeys for a particular multi-information packet, said televisiondisplayable informational labels being dynamically variable dependent onthe content of said particular multi-information packet.
 24. Aninteractive cable television system in accordance with claim 1 whereinsaid signal selection means comprises keyboard means comprising aplurality of keys for selectably enabling said converting of any one ofsaid associated frequencies of said simultaneously provided frequencyseparated related different program information message signals intosaid designated television reception channel associated frequencydependent on the key selected.
 25. An interactive cable televisionsystem in accordance with claim 24 wherein said multi-information packetcomprises video information displayable on said multichannel televisionreceiver corresponding to informational labels to be dynamicallyassigned to said keys for a particular multi-information packet, saidtelevision displayable informational labels being dynamically variabledependent on the content of said particular multi-informational packet.26. An interactive cable television system in accordance with claim 25wherein at least a portion of said plurality of said individualmulti-information packets comprising said multi-information televisionprogram communication signal are related to each other in real time andcontent with said portion of said plurality of time relatedmulti-information packets being content related to each other in adecision tree relationship between successive individual packets andbetween program information message signals within said successiveindividual packets, thereby a memory accumulation program format may bereceived as said selectable multi-information television programming.27. An interactive cable television system in accordance with claim 26wherein said displayable informational labels dynamically vary inaccordance with the successive decision tree selections to be made. 28.An interactive cable television system in accordance with claim 1wherein at least a portion of said plurality of said individualmulti-information packets comprising said multi-information televisionprogram communication signal are related to each other in real time andcontent with said portion of said plurality of time relatedmulti-information packets being content related to each other in adecision tree relationship between successive individual packets andbetween program information message signals within said successiveindividual packets, whereby a memory accumulation program format may bereceived as said selectable multi-information television programming.29. In an improved subscriber television reception system adapted foruse in an interactive cable television system comprisinga plurality ofsubscriber television reception systems, each of said subscribertelevision reception systems comprising a multichannel televisionreceiver, each of said multichannel television receivers having aplurality of different television reception channels, each of saidtelevision reception channels having a different associatedcommunication frequency; a cable television subscriber distributionnetwork operatively connected to said plurality of subscriber televisionreception systems; and a cable television programming transmission meansoperatively connected to said subscriber distribution network forproviding transmitted television programming thereto, said subscriberdistribution networks providing said transmitted television programmingto said plurality of subscriber television reception systems, said cabletelevision programming transmission means comprising means forsubstantially simultaneously providing a multiplexed multi-informationtelevision program communication signal along with at least onedifferent regular television program information signal as saidtransmitted television programming to said subscriber distributionnetwork; said multiplexed multi-information television programcommunication signal comprising a plurality of multi-informationpackets, each multi-information packet comprising a plurality ofsimultaneously provided different program information message signalsrelated in real time and content to each other, each of said differentprogram information message signals in said multi-information packetbeing at a different associated communication frequency different fromeach other, and different from said television reception channelassociated frequencies whereby said different program informationmessage signals in said packet are frequency separated from each otherand not directly receivable on said television reception channels; saidone different regular television program information signal having anassociated communication frequency corresponding to a televisionreception channel frequency and being directly selectably receivable onthe corresponding television reception channel; each of saidmultichannel television receivers being capable of independentlyselectably receiving information on any one of said plurality ofdifferent television reception channels dependent on the televisionreception channel selected; the improved comprising a multi-informationselection interface means operatively connected between said subscriberdistribution network and said multichannel television receiver, saidmulti-information selection interface means comprising first signalseparation means operatively connected to said subscriber distributionnetwork for demultiplexing said multiplexed multi-information televisionprogram communication signal and providing a first pass band outputsignal comprising only said multi-information packets of said frequencyseparated related different program information message signals, andsignal selection means operatively connected to said first signalseparation means for receiving said first pass band output signal andselectably converting any one of the associated frequencies of saidsimultaneously provided frequency separated related different programinformation message signals into the associated frequency of adesignated one of said television reception channels and passing saidselected frequency converted one of said simultaneously providedfrequency separated related different program information messagesignals to said multichannel television receiver in said improvedsubscriber television reception system; whereby said improved subscribertelevision reception system may independently selectably choose betweensaid regular television programming being transmitted on saidcorresponding television reception channels and said multi-informationtelevision programming being received on said designated televisionreception channel.
 30. An improved subscriber television receptionsystem in accordance with claim 29 wherein a designated one of saidcorresponding television reception channel associated frequencies andsaid designated television reception channel associated frequency arethe same, said one different regular television program signalassociated frequency corresponding to said designated televisionreception channel associated frequency, said multi-information selectioninterface means further comprising mode selection means operativelyconnected between said subscriber distribution network and said firstsignal selection means for enabling independent subscriber selectionbetween a normal mode state and a multi-information mode state, said onedifferent regular television program information signal being selectablypassed directly to said multichannel television receiver in said normalmode state while reception of said multiplexed multi-informationtelevision program communication signal by said first signal separationmeans is disabled, said multiplexed multi-information television programcommunication signal being selectably provided to said first signalseparation means in said multi-information mode state while directpassage of said one different regular television program informationsignal to said multichannel television receiver at said same associatedfrequency is disabled, whereby said improved subscriber televisionreception system may selectably receive either said multi-informationtelevision programming or said regular television programming on thesame designated television reception channel.
 31. An improved subscribertelevision reception system in accordance with claim 29 wherein saidfirst signal separation means comprises demultiplexer means fordemultiplexing said multiplexed multi-information television programcommunication signal and providing a demultiplexed output signalcomprising said plurality of simultaneously provided frequency separatedrelated different program information message signals and first bandpass filter means operatively connected to said demultiplexer means forreceiving said demultiplexed output signal and providing said first passband output signal.
 32. An improved subscriber television receptionsystem in accordance with claim 31 wherein said signal selection meanscomprises mixer means operatively connected to said first band passfilter means for receiving said first pass band output signal as oneinput thereto, means for selectably providing a variable mixingfrequency signal to another input of said mixer means, said mixingfrequency signal having a selectably variable associated frequency whichwhen mixed with said first pass band output signal in said mixer meansconverts the selected one of said associated frequencies of saidsimultaneously provided frequency separated related different programinformation message signals into a mixer output signal comprising saiddesignated television reception channel associated frequency, and secondband pass filter means operatively connected to said mixer means forreceiving said mixer output signal and providing a second pass bandoutput signal comprising only said frequency converted selected one ofsaid plurality of related different program information signals to saidmulti-channel television receiver.
 33. An improved subscriber televisionreception system in accordance with claim 32 wherein said selectablyvariable mixing frequency signal providing means comprises mixingfrequency synthesizer means for synthesizing said mixing frequencysignal, keyboard means comprising a plurality of keys for selectablyvarying the mixing frequency signal to be synthesized dependent on thekey selected and command signal storage means operatively connectedbetween said synthesizer means and said keyboard means for generating avariable command signal to said synthesizer means dependent on the keyselected, said synthesizer means being responsive to said variablecommand signal for determining said mixing frequency signal basedthereon, a different one of said keys corresponding to a different oneof said simultaneously transmitted selectable plurality of relateddifferent information message signals.
 34. An improved subscribertelevision reception system in accordance with claim 33 wherein saidcommand signal storage means comprises read only memory means.
 35. Animproved subscriber television reception system in accordance with claim34 wherein said mixing frequency synthesizer means comprises digitalmixing frequency synthesizer means comprising a reference oscillator anda phase locked loop, said phase locked loop comprising a tunable voltagecontrolled oscillator means and a digital frequency divider means havinga selectably variable division ratio, said digital frequency dividermeans being operatively connected in a digitally variable feedback servoloop with said voltage controlled oscillator for selectably tuning saidvoltage controlled oscillator dependent on said selected frequencydivider means division ratio, said keyboard selectable stored commandsignals corresponding to said variable division ratios, said divisionratio varying in response to variations in said keyboard selectedcommand signal.
 36. An improved subscriber television reception systemin accordance with claim 32 wherein said mixing frequency synthesizermeans comprises digital mixing frequency synthesizer means comprising areference oscillator and a phase locked loop, said phase locked loopcomprising a tunable voltage controlled oscillator means and a digitalfrequency divider means having a selectably variable division ratio,said digital frequency divider means being operatively connected in adigitally variable feedback servo loop with said voltage controlledoscillator for selectably tuning said voltage controlled oscillatordependent on said selected frequency divider means division ratio, saidkeyboard selectable stored command signals corresponding to saidvariable division ratios, said division ratio varying in response tovariations in said keyboard selected command signal.
 37. An improvedsubscriber television reception system in accordance with claim 29wherein said signal selection means comprises mixer means operativelyconnected to said first signal separation means for receiving said firstpass band output signal as one input thereto, means for selectablyproviding a variable mixing frequency signal to another input of saidmixer means, said mixing frequency signal having a selectably variableassociated frequency which when mixed with said first pass band outputsignal in said mixer means converts the selected one of said associatedfrequencies of said simultaneously provided frequency separated relateddifferent program information message signals into a mixer output signalcomprising said designated television reception channel associatedfrequency, and second band pass filter means operatively connected tosaid mixer means for receiving said mixer output signal and providing asecond pass band output signal comprising only said frequency convertedselected one of said plurality of related different program informationsignals to said multichannel television receiver.
 38. An improvedsubscriber television reception system in accordance with claim 37wherein said selectably variable mixing frequency signal providing meanscomprises mixing frequency synthesizer means for synthesizing saidmixing frequency signal, keyboard means comprising a plurality of keysfor selectably varying the mixing frequency signal to be synthesizeddependent on the key selected and command signal storage meansoperatively connected between said synthesizer means and said keyboardmeans for generating a variable command signal to said synthesizer meansdependent on the key selected, said synthesizer means being responsiveto said variable command signal for determining said mixing frequencysignal based thereon, a different one of said keys corresponding to adifferent one of said simultaneously transmitted selectable plurality ofrelated different information message signals.
 39. An improvedsubscriber television reception system in accordance with claim 38wherein said mixing frequency synthesizer means comprises digital mixingfrequency sythesizer means comprising a reference oscillator and a phaselocked loop, said phase locked loop comprising a tunable voltagecontrolled oscillator means and a digital frequency divider means havinga selectably variable division ratio, said digital frequency dividermeans being operatively connected in a digitally variable feedback servoloop with said voltage controlled oscillator for selectably tuning saidvoltage controlled oscillator dependent on said selected frequencydivider means division ratio, said keyboard selectable stored commandsignals corresponding to said variable division ratios, said divisionratio varying in response to variations in said keyboard selectedcommand signal.
 40. An improved subscriber television reception systemin accordance with claim 29 wherein said signal selection meanscomprises keyboard means comprising a plurality of keys for selectablyenabling said converting of any one of said associated frequencies ofsaid simultaneously provided frequency separated related differentprogram information message signals into said designated televisionreception channel associated frequency dependent on the key selected.